2Stout, Matthew. The Irish Ringfort. Dublin: Four Courts, 1997. 53.
The author states that "there are 45,119 ringforts in Ireland of which 41% have been positively identified as of March 1995." Other terms for ringforts in Ireland include rath, lios (or lis), caiseal (or cashel), cathair (or caher or cahir) and dún (or doon). Rath and lios refer to an earthen ring-fort; caiseal and cathair a stone ring-fort. A dún was any stronghold of importance, which may or may not be ring-shaped.